Software-defined radio (SDR) technology can be used for many interesting technical experiments. With listening only SDR you can do many interesting things, but having a SDR that can also transmit opens many new doors. Here are some interesting videos related to SDR and cyber security:
Universal Radio Hacker – Replay Attack With HackRF
Download here: https://github.com/jopohl/urh
Radio Hacking: Cars, Hardware, and more! – Samy Kamkar – AppSec California 2016
Hacking Car Key Fobs with SDR
Getting Started With The HackRF, Hak5 1707
Hacking Ford Key Fobs Pt. 1 – SDR Attacks with @TB69RR – Hak5 2523
Hacking Ford Key Fobs Pt. 2 – SDR Attacks with @TB69RR – Hak5 2524
Hacking Ford Key Fobs Pt. 3 – SDR Attacks with @TB69RR – Hak5 2525
Hacking Restaurant Pagers with HackRF
Software Defined Spectrum Analyser – Hack RF
Locating Cellular Signal with HackRF Spectrum Analyzer SDR Software
GSM Sniffing: Voice Decryption 101 – Software Defined Radio Series #11
How To Listen To Trunked Police Radio And Why Im Done
Transmitting NTSC/ATSC Video With the HackRF One and Gnuradio
Check also Using a HackRF SDR to Sniff RF Emissions from a Cryptocurrency Hardware Wallet and Obtain the PIN article.
342 Comments
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/07/04/cavity-filters-the-black-art-you-have-a-chance-of-pursuing/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/07/09/hackable-ham-radio-gives-up-its-mechanical-secrets/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://github.com/mdlougheed/Quansheng_UV_K5-8-_Metal_Body
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/07/12/tiny-transceiver-gets-it-done-with-one-transistor/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/07/26/ask-hackaday-is-shortwave-on-life-support/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/07/16/dme-with-a-twist-of-limesdr/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/07/29/an-antenna-to-throw-you-for-a-loop/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Read Utility Meters Via SDR To Fill Out Smart Home Stats
https://hackaday.com/2024/07/30/read-utility-meters-via-sdr-to-fill-out-smart-home-stats/
[Jeff Sandberg] has put a fair bit of effort into adding solar and battery storage with associated smarts to his home, but his energy usage statistics were incomplete. His solution was to read data from the utility meter using RTL-SDR to fill in the blanks. The results are good so far, and there’s no reason similar readings for gas and water can’t also be done
https://pdx.su/blog/2024-03-17-reading-my-electric-meter-with-rtlsdr/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/08/03/how-about-privacy-and-hackability/
https://pdx.su/blog/2024-03-17-reading-my-electric-meter-with-rtlsdr/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/08/09/the-waveguide-explanation-you-wish-youd-had-at-school/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Be Your Own DJ With QN8066 And An Arduino Library
https://hackaday.com/2024/08/10/be-your-own-dj-with-qn8066-and-an-arduino-library/
The QN8066 is a fun little FM transmitter chip. It covers the full FM broadcast band and has built-in DSP. You would find this sort of part in car cell phone adapters before every vehicle included Bluetooth or an AUX port. [Ricardo] has created an Arduino library to bring the QN8066 to the masses.
The chip is rather easy to use – control is handled with a common I2C interface. All the complex parts – Phase Locked Loop (PLL), RF front end, power management, and audio processing are all hidden inside. [Ricardo’s] library makes it even easier to use. One of the awesome features of the 8066 is the fact that it handles Radio Data System (RDS). RDS is the subcarrier datastream that allows FM stations to inject information like song title and artist into the signal. The data is then displayed on your radio screen.
QN8066 FM DSP RX/TX Arduino Library
https://github.com/pu2clr/QN8066
QN8066 FM Transmitter Arduino Library
https://hackaday.io/project/197221-qn8066-fm-transmitter-arduino-library
This project develops an Arduino library to simplify and streamline using the QN8066 FM transmitter in robust applications.
Tomi Engdahl says:
August 13, 2024
Pi Pico Rx: A Breadboard Software Defined Radio Based on the RP2040 Raspberry Pi Pico
https://www.rtl-sdr.com/pi-pico-rx-a-breadboard-software-defined-radio-based-on-the-rp2040-raspberry-pi-pico/
Over on hackster.io we’ve seen a story about how maker Jon Dawson designed a self-contained software-defined radio based on the Raspberry Pi Pico that can receive 0 – 30 MHz, with up to 250 kHz of bandwidth. The Raspberry Pi Pico is a microcontroller board based on the Raspberry Pi Foundation’s own RP2040 chip.
The Pi Pico Rx’s front end consists of a Tayloe Quadrature Sampling Detector (QSD) mixer which makes use of the PIO (Programmable Input/Output) feature on the RP2040. The circuit also has an encoder knob for tuning and a small OLED screen.
Jon had originally created the Pi Pico Rx on a custom PCB, however, his latest work brings the cost down by showing that it can just as easily be implemented on a breadboard with through-hole components.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.darkreading.com/vulnerabilities-threats/clfs-bug-crashes-even-updated-windows-10-11-systems
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/08/23/a-simple-guide-to-rf-pcb-design/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/08/25/a-simple-but-effective-receiving-loop-antenna/
Tomi Engdahl says:
SIGINT SDR Commander
SIGINT & CyberSec remote operations platform
https://hackaday.io/project/197414-sigint-sdr-commander
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/09/26/a-universal-rf-amplifier/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Build a Long-Distance Data Network Using Ham Radio Send data via IPv4 up to 300 kilometers with easy-to-assemble hardware
https://spectrum.ieee.org/build-a-longdistance-data-network-using-ham-radio
I have been a hobbyist and maker for almost 15 years now. I like inventing things and diving into low-level things. In 2013, I was looking at a protocol called NBP, used to create a data network over amateur radio links. NBP was developed in the 2000s as a potential replacement for the venerable AX.25 protocol [PDF] that’s been in use for digital links since the mid-1980s. I believed it was possible to create an even better protocol with a modern design that would be easier to use and inexpensive to physically implement.
It took six years, but the result is New Packet Radio (NPR), which I chose to publish under my call sign, F4HDK, as a nom de plume. It supports today’s de facto universal standard of communication—the Internet’s IPv4—and allows data to be transmitted at up to 500 kilobits per second on the popular 70-centimeter UHF ham radio band. Admittedly, 500 kb/s is not as fast as the megabits per second that flow through amateur networks such as the European Hamnet or U.S. AREDN, which use gigahertz
frequencies like those of Wi-Fi. But it is still faster than the 1.2 kb/s normally used by AX.25 links, and the 70-cm band permits long-distance links even when obstructions prevent line-of-sight transmissions.
I chose to build my hardware around the Si4463 [PDF] ISM transceiver: It’s cheap, flexible, and available in many modules and breakout boards, and it can handle a raw data rate up to 1 megabyte per second. It’s designed for short-range applications, so the radio part of the chip is not optimal, but it works. In order to reach reasonable distances, you need an amplifier to provide more RF power. For my NPR plan, I needed an amplifier that can also switch very rapidly between transmitting and receiving. I found some widely available external 20-watt amplifiers for handheld radios designed for the European-developed Digital Mobile Radio (DMR) standard, which was ratified in 2005.
Tomi Engdahl says:
Flipper Zero hacking tool gets MicroPython support
Developer and engineer Oliver Fabel has developed a port that is designed to run MicroPython on the Flipper Zero. This port allows users to write programs for Flipper Zero in Python, instead of built-in JavaScript. Till now you can access GPIO, ADC, PWM, the speaker, buttons, the display, and infrared communication with this but it doesn’t have support for NFC or RFID yet, and it’s still under development.
https://www.cnx-software.com/2024/10/06/flipper-zero-hacking-tool-gets-micropython-support/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/10/15/a-phone-a-ham-radio-relax-its-both/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.notebookcheck.net/New-open-source-project-transforms-Android-phones-into-ham-radio-transceivers.902140.0.html
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://www.zdnet.com/home-and-office/networking/how-ham-radio-endures-and-remains-a-disaster-lifeline-in-the-iphone-era/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/10/12/whats-your-swr-are-you-sure/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/10/19/fundamentals-of-fmcw-helps-you-understand-your-cars-point-of-view/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/10/21/save-a-packet-use-cheap-co-ax/
Anyone who works with radio transmitters will know all about matching and impedance, and also about the importance of selecting the best co-axial cable connecting transistor and antenna. But here’s [Steve, KD2WTU] with a different take, he’s suggesting that sometimes a not-so-good co-ax choice can make the grade. He’s passing up expensive 50 ohm cable in favour of the cheap and ubiquitous 75 ohm RG6 cable used in domestic TV and satellite receiver installations.
Using cheap Cable TV Coax for Ham Radio
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5knzS-1gCUM
Tomi Engdahl says:
Understanding circular polarization
https://www.edn.com/understanding-circular-polarization/#google_vignette
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/10/25/ham-radio-in-the-internet-age/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/10/28/making-pcb-strip-filter-design-easy-to-understand/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/10/28/turning-a-quansheng-handheld-into-a-neat-desktop-transceiver/
Tomi Engdahl says:
ilarikokko
/
Finnish_bandplans_for_SDR
Public
This repository contains Python scripts and their corresponding Windows executables for fetching and creating bandplans from the Finnish Traficom API for use with SDR++ and SDR# software. The scripts fetch bandplan data, process it, and save it in the appropriate format for each software.
https://github.com/ilarikokko/Finnish_bandplans_for_SDR
Tomi Engdahl says:
Barcelonalainen ignion esitteli Electronica-messuilla uutta OMNIA mXTEND -komponenttiaan, joka yhdistää kolme antennia yhteen innovatiiviseen ratkaisuun. Virtuaaliseksi antenniksi kutsuttu moduuli muuttaa piirikortin kolmen eri radion säteileväksi antenniksi.
Uutuus tukee samanaikaisesti matkapuhelin-, GNSS- ja Wi-Fi/BLE-radiotekniikoita. Pintaliitettävä passiivinen komponentti toimii taajuusalueilla 400 megahertsistä 8000 megahertsiin ja se mahdollistaa laitevalmistajille tarkan taajuusalueiden valinnan ilman fyysisiä kokomuutoksia.
https://etn.fi/index.php/13-news/16842-antenni-joka-ei-ole-antenni-korvaa-kolme-antennia
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/11/17/schooling-chatgpt-on-antenna-theory-misconceptions/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Junk Box Build Helps Hams With SDR
https://hackaday.com/2024/11/20/__trashed-24/
SDRs have been a game changer for radio hobbyists, but for ham radio applications, they often need a little help. That’s especially true of SDR dongles, which don’t have a lot of selectivity in the HF bands. But they’re so darn cheap and fun to play with, what’s a ham to do?
[VK3YE] has an answer, in the form of this homebrew software-defined radio (SDR) helper. It’s got a few features that make using a dongle like the RTL-SDR on the HF bands a little easier and a bit more pleasant. Construction is dead simple and based on what was in the junk bin and includes a potentiometer for attenuating stronger signals, a high-pass filter to tamp down stronger medium-wave broadcast stations, and a series-tuned LC circuit for each of the HF bands to provide some needed selectivity. Everything is wired together ugly-style in a metal enclosure, with a little jiggering needed to isolate the variable capacitor from ground.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/11/26/recreating-unobtainium-weather-station-sensors/
Tomi Engdahl says:
FCFZ: Fully Compatible Flipper Zero
DIY Flipper Zero that is fully compatible with original firmware & ecosystem. Assemble using off-the-shelf modules!
https://www.hackster.io/zst123/fcfz-fully-compatible-flipper-zero-e686ba
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/11/05/random-wire-antenna-uses-no-wire/
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/12/12/the-6ghz-band-opens-in-the-us/
Tomi Engdahl says:
Use Your RTL, In The Browser
https://hackaday.com/2024/12/13/use-your-rtl-in-the-browser/
The web browser started life as a relatively simple hypertext reading application, but over the 30+ years since the first one displayed a simple CERN web page it has been extended to become the universal platform. It’s now powerful enough to run demanding applications, for example a full software-defined radio. [Jtarrio] proves this, with an application to use an RTL-SDR, in HTML5.
It’s a fork of a previous Google-Chrome-only FM receiver, using the HTML5 WebUSB API, and converted to TypeScript. You can try it out for yourself if you have a handy RTL dongle lying around, it provides an interface similar to the RTL apps you may be used to.
https://github.com/jtarrio/radioreceiver
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2018/04/23/spoofing-cell-networks-with-a-usb-to-vga-adapter/
Tomi Engdahl says:
SoCs offer RF sampling and DSP muscle
https://www.edn.com/socs-offer-rf-sampling-and-dsp-muscle/
Adaptive SoCs in AMD’s Versal RF series integrate direct RF sampling data converters, dedicated DSP hard IP, and AI engines in a single chip. The devices offer wideband-spectrum observability and up to 80 TOPS of digital signal processing performance in a SWaP-optimized design for radar, spectral analysis, and test and measurement applications. They also provide programmable logic and ample memory to create powerful accelerators.
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://spectrum.ieee.org/hacking-a-car-radio-chip
Tomi Engdahl says:
https://hackaday.com/2024/12/15/wago-terminals-make-this-ham-radio-dipole-light-and-packable/